Veterans Day, The Willys Jeep

Today is November 11. Today is Veterans Day. Military.com describes Veterans Day as a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.

On any given Saturday morning at Hunt Valley Horsepower, we may be surrounded by veterans of every war since World War II. Some are walking. Some are in wheelchairs. Some remain in the vehicles that transported them. They’re in their 20s and all the way into their 90s. All have sacrificed in their own way. All attend to appreciate our community’s automobiles and to catch up with friends.

Today, as it should be every day, we appreciate our country’s veterans.

For the past 3 years, it has been an honor to work with the Marines of Baltimore County that coordinate toy pick-ups from our Special Gatherings to benefit Toys For Tots. Every Saturday morning, it has been a true pleasure to meet and get to know our community’s veterans. To our community’s veterans, thank you.

According to hagerty.com, this Friday, November 13 – back in 1940 - the Willys Jeep prototype was first presented to the U.S. Army. The Army sought a new utility vehicle and its competition was the Bantam BRC 60 and the Ford Pygmy. One became an American icon.

In 1941, the Willys Quad - aka the Willys MA - was selected by the War Department due to its power, visual lines and it being the lowest bid. In true WWII American style, the best of the Bantam and Ford were eventually added to the MA to form the MB. Ford’s production prowess was later tapped to help Willys build hundreds of thousands of ‘Jeeps’ to support the war effort.

[Maybe we’ll look into the disputed origin of the term ‘Jeep’ in a future blog.]

Without our military’s work overseas and teamwork on the homefront, the American Way would be a way of the past. Today - and whenever possible – thank a veteran.